Arlo gulped. “Rustlers?” he asked.
Butch walked further ahead and found a dead longhorn in the tumbleweed. “We gotta move,” said Butch. “Hya!”
The T-rexes took off, running swiftly and quietly. Spot and Arlo followed as they tracked the prints until they disappeared over the top of a small hill. When they got closer to the edge, the T-rexes crawled on their bellies to get a view of the herd a short distance away. The dinosaurs quietly took in the scene below.
Arlo crouched down, too. There—out below the big, blue sky—was the herd, quietly grazing in the tall grass. It seemed very peaceful.
“I don’t see any rustlers,” whispered Arlo, wondering where the thieves could be.
“They’re out there,” said Butch, slowly inching forward. He turned to Arlo and squinted, sizing him up. “I got a job for you.”
“I’m not really good at... jobs,” Arlo responded timidly.
Butch pointed out to the right of the herd. “I need you to keep on the dodge and sidle up the loblolly past them hornheads, just hootin’ and hollerin’ to score off them rustlers. We’ll cut dirt and get the bulge on ’em.”
“What?” Arlo asked, blank-faced.
“He just wants you to get on that rock and scream,” Ramsey said, clarifying. She pointed to a large rock in the field near the longhorns.
“They’ll come right at you,” added Butch. “You hold your ground. Don’t move.”
“Don’t move?” asked Arlo nervously. “What if they have claws and big teeth?”
“Don’t overthink it,” Butch said. Then he pushed Arlo right out into the field!
With Spot on his back, Arlo nervously looked around. He glanced at the T-rexes and Butch confidently nodded him forward.
Arlo took a deep breath and tried to get over his fear. He moved forward, slowly creeping through the grass. When he turned back, the T-rexes were gone! He panted as he anxiously continued toward the large rock.
Once he reached it, he carefully climbed up to the top. Trembling, his legs shook and his knees knocked into each other as he tried to muster up some courage. He took a deep breath and finally, opened his mouth to roar. A low, strained whisper came out. He took a breath and Spot watched as he tried again. But Arlo’s “roar” barely made a squeak.
Taking matters into his own hands, Spot chomped down onto Arlo’s leg and Arlo let out a piercing scream!
In an instant, Arlo saw the tall grass quiver and move. He could hear something coming toward them rapidly, but he couldn’t see what it was. His mouth went dry and he could barely breathe. Once again, Arlo was terrified.
“YEEEHAWW!” A voice hollered. “Pervis, get ’im!”
“I am getting him!” shouted another voice.
“Whoooweeeee!” shouted a third voice. “Not before me!”
Three of the thieves appeared: they were nasty looking Raptors. Each had a mouth full of big, pointy teeth and a sharp curved talon on each foot. Arlo turned to see another one—even bigger than the others—coming right at him. He froze in fear.
Just as the giant Raptor lunged at Arlo, Butch leaped out of the grass and grabbed it mid-air! The other three Raptors jumped and bounced, and Nash swiped at them. As the Raptors and T-rexes battled, Arlo was right in the middle of the chaotic brawl.
The Raptor named Pervis landed on a rock in front of Arlo and jumped at him. “I GOT YA!” he yelled, standing right over Arlo.
BOOM! Butch head-butted Pervis and he went flying. He landed with a thud, right in the middle of the herd. The noise stirred the longhorns up and they began to stampede. They trampled right over Pervis and were headed toward Arlo.
Arlo was petrified, but Spot barked and hopped onto his back, snapping him out of it. Arlo took off running.
Ramsey dashed toward the stampede and called to her brother. “Nash! The herd! Hya!”
“Giddyup! Come on now! Giddyup! Hya!” Nash shouted, following close behind.
Then Ramsey noticed a Raptor right behind Nash. “Watch out!” she screamed.
The giant Raptor jumped onto Nash and they began to fight. Nash got in a few good punches, but the Raptor managed to peg him down. It held up its claws, ready to strike, when Ramsey charged into the fight—nailing it with an impressive tail whip. CRACK!
The Raptor went flying back. And when he finally stood up, he touched his lip and realized it was bleeding. Then he pulled out a tooth. “Shoot! That’s my favorite tooth!” He threw it aside and looked up at Pervis.
“Ah, quit bleedin’ Bubbha,” Pervis said. Then he and the Raptor with the missing tooth went straight for Ramsey and Nash, ready to rumble.
Meanwhile, Arlo and Spot ran from the stampeding herd, getting tossed around along the way. Spot barked as Arlo ran behind a boulder. Arlo caught his breath, and Spot continued to bark and growl.
Just then, a Raptor named Lurleane landed on a nearby boulder. Arlo ducked for cover, trying to stay hidden. But she sniffed around, looking for someone to fight. All of a sudden, Spot jumped out, growling at her and egging her on. But Arlo grabbed him back, hoping she wouldn’t find them.
“It’s playtime,” Lurleane said creepily. “I know you’re there. I can SMELL ya.”
Without warning, Butch charged in with Pervis on his back and Lurleane joined in the attack on Butch. Arlo tried to get out of the way, but got whacked by Butch’s tail in the scuffle.
The Raptors pinned Butch to the ground right in front of Arlo. “Nab his tail!” Butch yelled, but Arlo was scared stiff. Spot nudged him, growling, and Arlo knew he had to help. Without giving it another thought, Arlo ran straight at Pervis, screaming like a crazed dinosaur.
Arlo head-butted the Raptor clear across the field! He couldn’t believe he had actually done it. He smiled proudly but the feeling quickly faded as soon as Lurleane slunk toward him.
“I’m going to love ending you,” she said with a terrible growl. She lunged at Arlo but before she could reach him, Butch snatched her up by the tail. Butch roared as he hurled her off into the distance. Then he chased the other Raptors away, biting their blue-feathered tails as they ran.
Nash ran up. “Come on, we gotta drive this herd outta here,” he said, nipping at one of the longhorns. “Hya! Come on now!”
Arlo and Spot couldn’t believe it, but they’d survived. They shared a glance and proudly galloped along with the T-rexes and the herd as they moved the longhorns on to safer pastures.
阿樂喉頭一緊。“迅猛龍?”他問道。
布奇走上前去,在風滾草叢中發(fā)現(xiàn)了一頭死去的長角牛。“我們得趕緊追上去,”布奇說,“快!”
霸王龍們出發(fā)了,他們悄悄地飛跑起來。小不點和阿樂跟著霸王龍們循著腳印一直追蹤到一個小山頂上,直到發(fā)現(xiàn)腳印消失了。霸王龍們在靠近懸崖邊緣的地方趴下,爬行著前進,不遠處牛群的一舉一動盡收眼底。他們靜悄悄地觀察著下面的景象。
阿樂也蹲了下來。在廣袤的蔚藍天空下,一群牛在高高的草叢中靜靜地享用著美食。一切看似都很平靜。
“我沒看到任何迅猛龍啊。”阿樂嘀咕著,心想那些賊能在哪兒。
“它們在那里?!辈计嬉贿呎f,一邊慢慢向前移動了一點。他看著阿樂,瞇著眼睛估算著他的能耐:“我有個任務(wù)交給你?!?
“我不是很擅長……做任務(wù)。”阿樂怯怯地答道。
布奇指向牛群的右邊:“我需要你悄悄地靠近那群長角牛前面的火炬松,然后只要大喊著趕走這些迅猛龍,讓它們啞口無言。接著,我們會快速殺出,這樣我們就占了上風?!?
“什么?”阿樂一臉茫然地問。
“他就是想讓你爬上那塊巖石,然后大聲尖叫。”拉姆齊指著田野里一塊靠近牛群的大巖石解釋道。
“它們會朝正對著你的方向走過去,”布奇補充道,“你就堅守陣地,不要動。”
“不要動?”阿樂緊張地問道,“萬一它們有爪子和巨大的牙齒怎么辦呢?”
“別把偷失賊想得太厲害?!辈计嬲f道,接著他就一下子把阿樂推到田野中去了!
小不點坐在阿樂的背上,阿樂緊張地環(huán)顧四周。他看了一眼霸王龍們,布奇自信滿滿地向他點了點頭。
阿樂深吸一口氣,努力克服自己的恐懼。他向前走著,慢慢地爬過草叢。他一轉(zhuǎn)過身,霸王龍們就不見了!他氣喘吁吁地繼續(xù)焦急地朝大石塊前進。
他一到那兒,就小心翼翼地爬了上去。在他試著鼓起勇氣時,他全身都在哆嗦,雙腿在打戰(zhàn),兩個膝蓋也在互相打架。他深吸一口氣,終于張開口準備吼叫了,他發(fā)出了低沉而又緊張的低語聲。阿樂再次深呼吸,小不點看著他又試了一次,但是阿樂的“吼叫”幾乎算不上是吼。
小不點挺身而出,咬住阿樂的腿,阿樂發(fā)出一聲刺耳的尖叫聲!
剎那間,阿樂看到高高的草叢在顫動,他能聽到有東西正快速向他們靠近,但看不到是什么。他嘴巴變干,幾乎不能呼吸了。阿樂又一次被嚇到了。
“呀嗬!”一聲大叫傳來,“佩維斯,抓住他!”
“我會抓住他的!”另一個聲音喊道。
“喔喔!”第三個聲音大喊道,“不要搶在我前面!”
其中的三個賊出現(xiàn)了:它們是長相兇惡的迅猛龍。它們嘴里都長滿了又大又尖的牙齒,腳上都長著鋒利如鉤的爪子。阿樂轉(zhuǎn)身看到另一只迅猛龍——它比其他同類還大——正朝他飛來,阿樂嚇得全身都僵住了。
就在這只巨大的迅猛龍沖向阿樂的危急關(guān)頭,布奇從草叢中跳出來,在半空中抓住了它!另外三只迅猛龍上蹦下跳,納什朝它們猛擊。迅猛龍們和霸王龍們互相扭打著,阿樂就恰恰夾在這混戰(zhàn)之中。
名叫佩維斯的迅猛龍落在阿樂面前的一塊巖石上,撲向阿樂。他站在阿樂的正上方,喊道:“我逮住你了!”
砰!布奇用頭把佩維斯撞飛了。佩維斯砰的一聲正好落在牛群中間。這聲響驚動了長角牛,它們開始亂竄,從佩維斯的身上踩了過去,朝阿樂奔來。
阿樂嚇呆了,直到小不點尖叫著跳到他的背上,對著他猛咬一口,這才回過神來,拔腿就跑。
拉姆齊沖向混亂的牛群,對弟弟喊道:“納什!趕牛!快點!”
“走喲!快點!走喲!快!”納什緊跟在牛群后面喊著。
就在這時,拉姆齊注意到,在納什的身后有一只迅猛龍?!靶⌒?!”她大喊道。
那只巨大的迅猛龍?zhí)郊{什身上,他們開始廝打起來。納什對迅猛龍一頓猛揍,但迅猛龍卻成功地控制住了納什。他舉起雙爪,正要反擊,這時,拉姆齊沖進來,加入了戰(zhàn)斗——她用她那令人印象深刻的尾部鞭擊打敗了那只迅猛龍。噼啪!
那只迅猛龍飛了回去。當他終于站起來的時候,他摸了摸嘴唇,發(fā)現(xiàn)嘴巴在流血。接著他拔下一顆牙齒:“哎呀!那是我最喜愛的一顆牙齒!”他把牙齒扔在一邊,抬頭看向佩維斯。
“啊,不流血了,謝天謝地。”佩維斯說。然后他和這只少了顆牙齒的迅猛龍徑直向拉姆齊和納什飛去,準備大干一場。
這時,阿樂和小不點從倉皇逃竄的牛群中跑了出來,一路上連滾帶爬的。阿樂跑到一塊巨石后面躲著,小不點則咆哮起來。阿樂歇了口氣,小不點則繼續(xù)在尖叫、怒吼著。
就在這時,一只叫樂琳的迅猛龍落在了旁邊的一塊巨石上。阿樂躲閃著尋找掩護,努力把自己藏起來。但是她四處嗅探,尋找著打架的對手。突然,小不點跳了出來,對著她咆哮,想挑釁她。但是阿樂把他拽了回去,心里暗暗地希望她不會找上他們。
“是時候來玩玩了?!睒妨沼行┟倾と坏卣f道,“我知道你們在那兒,我能聞到你們的味道?!?
沒有任何征兆地,布奇突然沖了過來,而佩維斯還在他背上,樂琳也加入了攻擊布奇的行列。阿樂極力閃避,但是在混戰(zhàn)中,他還是被布奇的尾巴狠狠地抽了一下。
迅猛龍們把布奇摁倒在了阿樂面前?!白ニ奈舶停 辈计婧暗?,但是阿樂被嚇呆了。小不點吼叫著推了推他,阿樂知道他必須要幫助布奇。來不及多想,阿樂徑直跑向佩維斯,像瘋了一樣地尖叫著。
阿樂用頭將一只迅猛龍徹底撞出了田野!他無法相信自己真的做到了。他自豪地笑了,但是當樂琳偷偷走向他的時候,他的自豪感很快就蕩然無存了。
“就這樣結(jié)果你,感覺真好。”她用可怕的咆哮聲說道。她沖向阿樂,但她還沒碰到阿樂,她的尾巴就被布奇抓住了。布奇怒吼著用力把她扔出老遠。接著,其他迅猛龍紛紛逃跑,布奇咬住他們長著藍色羽毛的尾巴,把它們趕跑了。
納什跑了過來?!翱?,我們必須將牛群趕離這里,”他緊追著一頭長角牛說,“快點!快走!”
他們竟然活了下來,阿樂和小不點不敢相信。他們對視了一眼,自豪地與霸王龍和牛群一起飛奔著,護送牛群回到更安全的草場。